NASCAR: Joe Gibbs Racing add another driver for 2023
By Asher Fair
Joe Gibbs Racing have added another driver for the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series season, filling the No. 19 Toyota for three more races.
Joe Gibbs Racing now have five drivers confirmed in their lineup for the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series season after announcing a third part-time driver of the “star car”, the No. 19 Toyota.
Connor Mosack, who competed in one race for the team in last year’s “star car”, the No. 18 Toyota, at Portland International Raceway, is set to return to the organization for three races in 2023.
The 24-year-old Charlotte, North Carolina native is set to drive the No. 19 Toyota in the inaugural race at the Chicago Street Course on Saturday, July 1, the race at Pocono Raceway on Saturday, July 22, and the race at Road America on Saturday, July 29.
Mosack already had a 20-race deal lined up with Sam Hunt Racing behind the wheel of the No. 24 Toyota after competing in just one race for the team at Watkins Glen International last year.
His deal with Joe Gibbs Racing has him set to run 23 races on the 33-race NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule.
As of now, Mosack is set to share the No. 19 Toyota with Ryan Truex (six races) and Joe Graf Jr. (five races), meaning Joe Gibbs Racing still need to fill the seat for 19 races. There are a few drivers who stand out as solid candidates to join the roster, including Trevor Bayne, who compete in nine races for the team last year.
Sammy Smith and John Hunter Nemechek are set to compete full-time for the team in 2023, replacing the Cup Series-bound Ty Gibbs and the JR Motorsports-bound Brandon Jones, after competing in select races behind the wheel of the “star car” last year. Smith made nine starts while Nemechek made three.
Smith is set to drive the No. 18 Toyota while Nemechek is set to drive the No. 20 Toyota, which wasn’t in the team’s lineup last year. Jones had been the full-time driver of the No. 19 Toyota for five seasons, while the No. 54 Toyota which Gibbs drove last year (and part-time in 2021) will not be back in 2023.
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Of Joe Gibbs Racing’s five confirmed drivers for 2023, only Graf did not spend time in the No. 18 Toyota, or with the team at all, a year ago.